This invention relates to hose reel apparatus for winding and storing garden and other type hoses and, more particularly, to a hose reel which automatically rewinds the hose utilizing the force of the fluid transmitted through the hose and automatically shuts off the flow of liquid after rewinding.
Hose reels for garden hose and other types of hoses are known. Many of the prior known devices have included complex mechanisms for turning on the flow of fluid through the hose when the hose is pulled from the reel, various mechanical and hydraulic means for rewinding the hoses on the reel, and various mechanical devices for shutting off the flow of fluid through the hose after the hose has been rewound. The major drawback of the prior devices has been their extremely complex construction making them expensive as well as subject to various forms of mechanical failure.
Specifically, prior reels have failed to provide simple and efficient apparatus for shutting off the flow of fluid after the hose has been rewound. A typical example is U.S. Pat. No. 2,193,288 disclosing one of the many prior known shut-off devices. This device includes numerous small, pivotable, and rotational elements subject to corrosion, and other elemental effects which can hinder or completely prevent proper operation.
Other drawbacks included the failure to provide simple and efficient means for evenly winding the hose on the reel. Many of the prior known winding devices used complex threaded or geared mechanisms which were also subject to breakdown and mechanical failure.